As toll prices continue to rise quarter on quarter, traffic congestion only seems to be getting worse.
We often hear that Sydney is the most tolled city in the world, yet Australia's most populous city still manages to have one of the slowest average speeds during peak hour, globally – 23km/h – according to the TomTom Traffic index.
Worse, most of the people who could benefit from using the tollways -- people living in Sydney's outer suburbs – are the ones who can least afford it. And as each new toll road is opened, a bottleneck is dismantled in one place, only to move further along the network, with no discernible improvement in Sydney's overall peak-hour congestion.
Dr Christopher Standen is an urban development research fellow with UNSW Sydney's Faculty of Medicine & Health and a leading expert on the relationships between transport systems and population health.
"We know that sitting in traffic congestion causes stress," says Dr Standen.
"And there is evidence of an association between long-distance commuting and a variety of health issues. But it depends a lot on the mode of transport. Sitting in traffic for an hour every morning and evening is very different from relaxing on a comfortable train for the same amount of time."
But in some parts of Sydney, access to public transport is limited and having to spend substantial parts of the day in traffic is unavoidable. If congestion causes stress and stress can adversely affect health, it makes sense to prioritise congestion as a public health concern.
Putting the brakes on congestion
So how can we reduce it? Dr Standen says there are three proven ways.
The first is the most obvious, and it's by putting a price on road usage, such as tolls or congestion taxes – more on that later. The second is to reduce road capacity, which at first look may seem counter-intuitive, but readers may remember a recent example.
"After George Street in the Sydney CBD was closed to motor vehicle traffic to enable light rail construction, the level of congestion on George Street fell to zero – naturally – but an interesting thing happened to overall traffic volume in the CBD – it fell by 8%," Dr Standen says.
The third proven method to reduce congestion is to have enforced, stay-at-home orders, as was witnessed during the lockdown periods during the pandemic.
So given reduction of road capacity and stay-at-home orders are the most disruptive and least likely to happen at a large scale, is pricing the most effective and fairest way to manage transport flow in a major city?
It all depends on what the purpose of having toll roads is, says Dr Standen.
"If the aim is to maximise revenue and profit, then setting tolls at the individual motorway level makes sense," he says, alluding to the current conditions in Sydney's transport system where the operators of privately run toll roads are banking hundreds of millions of dollars of profit each year.
"But if the aim is to reduce congestion, then we need to be able to set pricing across the whole road network – not just the motorways – and to be able to vary pricing depending on time of day."
He points to past research that suggests a simple congestion charge of 5 cents per kilometre on all metropolitan roads during peak times, alongside a halving of vehicle registration fees, could improve flow without sacrificing equity.
"The modelling in this research suggests this package would significantly reduce congestion, with most motorists ending up paying less overall," Dr Standen says.
A similar idea, where the cost of using Sydney's roads is shared across the whole network with a focus on public benefit rather than private profit was one of the findings of Allan Fels' Toll Review Interim Report handed down in March. The full report is expected this week.
But Dr Standen suggests that the terms of reference for the review could have been wider, given that transport plays a vital role in providing access to employment, education and services, not to mention social and recreational opportunities.
"Few people drive around cities just for the sake of it. So, rather than focusing on just tolls, we really should be looking more broadly at equity of access. This could mean equitable pricing for the whole road network, not just the sections that happen to be tolled for historical reasons. But it could also mean better public transport options, or more affordable housing close to jobs, services and public transport."
Reclaim the roads
One way to achieve this, which was also suggested in the Fels Interim Report, would be for the State Government to oversee the daily management of the toll roads. Dr Standen says this doesn't necessarily mean eliminating the private involvement, as construction, maintenance and operation could still be contracted out to the private sector where this is in the public interest.
One of the problems with the current model where private companies are invited to construct and/or manage the operation of the motorways is that there is little regard for public interest.
"For-profit roads are designed to maximise profit, not the public interest. For example, the Rozelle Interchange was added to the WestConnex design purely to increase future toll revenue – even though it was known this would create a massive bottleneck at the Anzac Bridge."
Indeed, a report into the Rozelle Interchange project published only yesterday found that the "financial model of WestConnex was based on maximising its sale value, which, in turn has driven design decisions that have increased traffic congestion on the Anzac Bridge and its surrounds".
How congestion limits itself and why a toll cap doesn't work
Interestingly, congestion itself can be a limit to further congestion.
"It's not fun sitting in a traffic jam, so people and households change their travel choices and home and work locations to avoid congestion. In other words, on un-tolled roads, congestion itself is what is keeping congestion at tolerable levels," Dr Standen says.
But there's a downside to this self-regulation of traffic flow.
"Unfortunately, the low-income households that cannot afford to live close to work or public transport and cannot afford to pay tolls are the same people who are disproportionately affected by congestion."
One proposed solution to this problem– and implemented by the NSW State Government in January – is to cap tolls. But Dr Standen says this creates new problems.
"Capping tolls or reducing the per-kilometre rate would incentivise people to drive longer distances, to switch from public transport to driving, and to move further from work, creating more urban sprawl. That would mean more vehicle kilometres and associated emissions, health impacts and environmental impacts."
Professor Taha Rashidi, from UNSW Engineering and a member of the University's Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation, agrees that capping tolls is only a short-term fix and could even exacerbate existing issues within the city's transport network.
"By capping tolls, we are essentially just moving the bottleneck from one part of the network to another," says Prof. Rashidi.
"The fundamental issue with the caps is that they don't address the underlying problem of congestion. When tolls are capped, drivers may opt for the tolled roads more frequently, leading to increased congestion there. With the rearrangement of traffic in a capped toll system, tolled roads lose their fundamental reason for existence, which is to improve traffic and support the development of an equitable transport system."
Not only that, but toll caps may even only benefit those who are better off. Wealthier individuals are more likely to use tolled roads regularly, while lower-income commuters, who might rely on alternative routes or public transport, see little to no benefit.
"We need to consider who is really gaining from these policies," Prof. Rashidi says, pointing out that without a comprehensive strategy, toll caps can inadvertently widen the socioeconomic gap.
Prof. Rashidi also questions the maths behind the State Government's move this year to cap drivers' weekly toll spend to $60 for journeys totalling up to $400 per week. He says the toll relief is proposed for two years with a budget of around half a billion dollars which would benefit approximately 700,000 weekly users. The average benefit for each user works out to be $750 per year.
"But if the maximum benefit per user is capped at $400 per week – meaning a $340 benefit – the $750 per year is negligible compared to the claimed aim of $340 per week," he says.
"Even if people weren't frequent users of the tolls before the cap, they might now consider making trips they would not normally make, like local trips that are faster during off-peak. And now the government will be paying for those trips, too. So It is unclear how the scheme can assist the users with objective cost assistance."
So, what is the alternative? Prof. Rashidi says a more holistic approach is necessary, and reaffirms the notion of congestion pricing at a network level.
"Congestion pricing can be more effective if we look at the network as a whole. It can help distribute traffic more evenly, reduce overall congestion, and generate revenue that can be reinvested into public transport and infrastructure improvements."
Prof. Rashidi also emphasizes the importance of using advanced technology and data analytics to develop these pricing mechanisms.
"By utilising real-time data and predictive analytics, we can create dynamic pricing models that adjust based on traffic conditions, ensuring a more efficient and fair system for all road users."
